Black Ops II ruled PlayStation's July charts. Black Ops 7 finished 19th

Sony's monthly PlayStation Store recap for July opens with a quiet admission: "Returning classics led the charts in July." The data behind that line is starker. Call of Duty: Black Ops II was the month's No. 1 download on both PS5 and PS4, in the US/Canada and EU stores alike. Four charts, one winner. And on the US/Canada PS5 list, Black Ops 7, the highest-numbered Call of Duty in the top 20, sits at No. 19.

The PS4 list doubles down on the pattern. On the US/Canada list, Black Ops II is No. 1, Black Ops III is No. 2, the original Black Ops is No. 5, Modern Warfare is No. 7. It reads like a used-game bin, which is to say the audience for these older entries never really left. Publishers are leaning on that same appetite: Ubisoft's remake strategy faces its next big test.

Call of Duty's old guard owns the top 10

The PS5 top 10 shows how far that shadow reaches, and where regional tastes diverge.

Beyond the shooters, the two lists split along familiar lines. EA Sports College Football 27 is No. 3 in the US, while EA Sports FC 26 takes No. 5 there and No. 4 in the EU. Halo: Campaign Evolved, a title that blurs the line between port and remake, is No. 6 in the US and No. 7 in the EU. Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced reaches No. 4 in the US and No. 3 in the EU, after a launch day that moved 2 million copies. UFC 6 holds No. 11 on both lists. Lower down, the regions part ways: MLB The Show 26 is No. 15 in the US, while the EU list gives The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt No. 12, Resident Evil 4 No. 15, and Forza Horizon 5 No. 18.

PS4: Batman, Red Dead and co-op staples

Around Call of Duty on the PS4 chart sit games people keep coming back to.

Batman: Arkham Knight is No. 3 in the US and No. 4 in the EU; Red Dead Redemption 2 takes the reverse slots. Gang Beasts, A Way Out, The Forest and Minecraft cluster in the middle of both lists. Bloodborne sits at No. 19 in the US, The Last of Us Remastered at No. 16 in the EU, and Dying Light reaches No. 17 in the US and No. 18 in the EU.

PS VR2: I Am Cat climbs to No. 1

I Am Cat was the No. 1 PS VR2 download in both regions. Sony's footnote matters here: the list counts PlayStation Store purchases only, excluding game upgrades and titles bundled with hardware. Synapse is No. 2 in the US, Job Simulator No. 2 in the EU, and Beat Saber sits in the top 5 of both regions. Metro Awakening is No. 4 on the EU list, while Zero Caliber VR, a US-only presence, appears at No. 9. Among Us 3D: VR and Arizona Sunshine VR Remake show up on both charts.

Free to play: Roblox and Fortnite trade places

Roblox leads the US free-to-play chart, Fortnite leads the EU one, and each holds the other's No. 2 spot. Rocket League is No. 4 on both lists, and Call of Duty: Warzone is No. 5 on both. Marvel Rivals is No. 3 in the US, Valorant appears at No. 7 in the EU only, and Stumble Guys closes out the EU top 10.

After a nostalgia month, a variety month

Sony's August PlayStation Plus lineup, playable from August 4, does not chase the same mood. Subscribers get Dying Light 2 Stay Human: Reloaded Edition, the zombie survival game built around parkour; Big Walk, a co-op puzzle game where talking is the main tool; and Signalis, a retro-flavored psychological survival horror. The full slate is in our rundown of the August lineup. After a July of paid downloads going to old favorites, the subscription slate heads somewhere else entirely.

July's charts said it four times over: an old Call of Duty beats a new one.